# internet

Pronunciation: US say "IN-tur-net" /ˈɪn(t)ɚˌnɛt/; UK say "IN-tuh-net" /ˈɪntəˌnɛt/

## Noun

1. The global network formed by linking computer networks together, which carries websites, email, streamed media and the other services people use online.
   - Simple: The system that links computers all over the world, used for websites, email, watching shows and much more.
   - _Rumors about the merger spread across the internet within hours._
   - _Millions of internet users lost access to the site during the outage._
2. Access to the internet, or the state of having a working connection to it.
   - Simple: The ability to connect to the internet and use it.
   - _Rural areas often struggle to get reliable internet._
   - _Her apartment came with internet already set up._
5. A made-up point awarded, as a joke, for making an outstanding or very funny post online.
   - Simple: A pretend point you 'win' for posting something great online.
   - _After that perfectly timed pun, someone in the thread awarded her ten internets._
   - _You get an internet for spotting the typo before anyone else did._

## Verb

3. To use the internet, especially to search for information on it. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To go on the internet, especially to look something up.
   - _Ask your cousin to find the cheap tickets; she is the only one in this family who really knows how to internet._
   - _His mother called up the stairs that he had been internetting long enough and should come down and help with dinner._
4. To connect a computer, device, or similar equipment into a computer network, especially the internet.
   - Simple: To connect a computer or device to a network, especially the internet.

## Verb

6. To join or interweave separate things so that together they make up a network. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To weave or join several things together so they form a network.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A collection of computer networks that exchange data using the Internet Protocol, such as a private intranet.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 5** — A lowercase spelling of Internet, which is short for internetwork; the verb grew out of the noun.
**Meanings 4, 6** — Formed from the prefix inter- ('amid, among, between') combined with net, meaning 'to form a netting or network'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/internet (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).